Heart and vascular disease are major problems in the United States and throughout the world. Conditions such as atherosclerosis result in blood vessels becoming blocked or narrowed. This blockage can result in lack of oxygenation of the heart, which has significant consequences since the heart muscle must be well oxygenated in order to maintain its blood pumping action.
Occluded, stenotic, or narrowed blood vessels may be treated with a number of relatively non-invasive medical procedures including percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA), percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), and atherectomy. Angioplasty techniques typically involve the use of a balloon catheter. The balloon catheter is advanced over a guidewire so that the balloon is positioned adjacent a stenotic lesion. The balloon is then inflated and the restriction of the vessel is opened.
A wide variety of balloon catheters and angioplasty balloons exist, each with certain advantages and disadvantages. Some of these catheters include balloons that are highly lubricious, for example, so that they can easily navigate the vascular system. Although this lubricity is desirable for a number of reasons, it can sometimes cause a balloon to move during an interventional procedure or slip away from a lesion during the intervention. This could decrease the efficiency or the effectiveness of a procedure. There is an ongoing need for improved or refined balloon catheters.